Tierney faces another ethics investigation

After the intense 2012 re-election campaign, when he was constantly attacked for alleged ethics violations, Tierney could soon be investigated by the House Ethics Committee.

In June, the Office of Congressional Ethics sent the committee an ethics report on Tierney and three other legislators; however, the committee didn't reveal the names in the report until Friday.

The committee did not specify the contents of the reports Friday, but Tierney was attacked in the 2010 and 2012 for his personal financial-disclosure reports.

Tierney said he is pleased to have the "chance to set the record straight."

"I welcome the opportunity to finally put this issue to rest after years of my opponents attacking me and my family," the Salem Democrat said in a statement. "For more than three years, they have tried repeatedly to misrepresent gifts my wife received from her brother in appreciation for caring for their dying mother and his three children who were without parental supervision.

"There is nothing new that has not already been reviewed in both a court of law and by the voters of my district who sent me back to Congress in two subsequent elections. ... I hope the committee will expedite its review and I am confident it will find the allegations meritless as they have no foundation in law or fact," he added.

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Tierney's wife, Patrice, served a month in jail in 2011 after pleading guilty to tax fraud for her role in handling her brother's finances. She also admitted to being "willfully blind" of her brother's business, an illegal offshore gambling operation.

Last year, Tierney said the money was a gift to Patrice, so it was not reportable income and was also exempt from his personal financial-disclosure reports.

The committee will decide by Sept. 11 whether to start an investigation.

The Office of Congressional Ethics also sent the committee an ethics report on Michele Bachmann, a Republican from Minnesota; Tim Bishop, a Democrat from New York; and Peter Roskam, a Republican from Illinois.

Tierney, who has been in office for nine terms, represents Billerica, Tewksbury, Wilmington, Bedford, Burlington and several North Shore towns.

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